From the editor
Ed Mullen
This issue of Practice and Research features
the Center's second invitational conference, Knowledge for
Practice: Practitioners and Researchers as Partners, which
examined practitioner-research partnerships in knowledge development
for professional social work practice. The conference articles
were prepared under the editorship of Associate Professor Peg
Hess, who also served as conference director. Major papers are
summarized and will be available in a forthcoming volume.
This issue also includes synopses of several Center research studies,
a list of recent publications of Center affiliates, and a description
of Center activities.
We are eager to hear from readers and welcome suggestions for
areas of study or collaboration.
As this issue of the newsletter illustrates, the Center has enjoyed
a very productive year. Particularly noteworthy has been the work
of the Center Development Council under the leadership of David
Lindau. .Three members of the Development Council not only contributed
their ideas, but also gave generously to finance the invitational
conference: Virginia Marks, Frances Beatman and David Lindau.
The conference's success far exceeded initial expectations, thanks
to the commitment of Conference Planning Committee members Bruce
Grellong, Doris Rosenberg, Pauline Falk, Helen Rehr and Peg Hess.
During the past year faculty staff and doctoral students conceived,
developed and implemented many new projects. Proposals have been
developed to study preadolescent suicidal ideation and behavior;
the effectiveness of suicidal training on staff identification
of potential suicide in a clinical population of preadolescents;
alternative, nonstigmatizing on-site mental health services for
older adults; group prevention program for minority adolescents
at high risk of contracting HIV, and associated mental health
problems; group parenting skills program for skipped-generation
children raised by grandparents; environmental quality for the
severely mentally ill; and development of a computerized scan
as a tool for social work assessment. A proposal has been submitted
to establish a research center for the study of child and adolescent
health services. Work is proceeding on the development of studies
pertaining to a neighborhood-based group education program for
minority adolescents at-risk of AIDS; an assessment of early intervention
programs for new parents; and computer applications for social
work practice.
The Center has benefited from affiliation with a number of faculty,
including associate professor Peg Hess and assistant professors
Denise Burnette, Helene Jackson, Mark Mattaini and Ada Mui. We
welcome assistant professor Neil Guterman as a new faculty affiliate
for the 1993-94 academic year. Agency staff affiliates have included
Annaclare van Dalen, Audrey Weiner, Robert Abramovitz, Bruce Grellong,
Nina Koh and Jonathan Katz. Doctoral students have included Jennifer
Magnabosco, Carl Hesselbart, Mark Cameron, Marion Riedel, Karun
Singh and Julia Stewart. We welcome Karun Singh as the Center's
new Administrative Coordinator. This has indeed been a remarkable
fifth year for the Center, and we anticipate exciting developments
in the year ahead.